Midterms of­fer clues for Trump, Dems in ‘20

WASH­ING­TON >> This week’s midterm elec­tions of­fered re­veal­ing lessons for both par­ties as bat­tle lines be­gin to emerge for the 2020 pres­i­den­tial elec­tion.

For Democrats, the po­ten­tial path back to the White House opened some­what with a string of statewide vic­to­ries in Rust Belt states that long backed the party’s nom­i­nees but flipped to Pres­i­dent Don­ald Trump in 2016. But Repub­li­cans found strength in crit­i­cal states that of­ten hold the keys to the pres­i­dency.

Gains for Democrats in Wis­con­sin, Michi­gan and Penn­syl­va­nia were off­set by mixed re­sults in Ohio and GOP dom­i­nance in elec­toral pow­er­house Flor­ida.

In Ohio, Repub­li­cans came out on top in the gov­er­nor’s race and a hand­ful of other statewide of­fices. The GOP kept their 12-4 ma­jor­ity in the U.S. House del­e­ga­tion.

Ohio Demo­crat Rep. Tim Ryan, who won an­other term rep­re­sent­ing a district that Hil­lary Clin­ton won in 2016, called it a “re­ally bad elec­tion night” for Ohio Democrats.